Depending on how the announcers refer to him, you can pretty much guess what era in John Cena’s career the video you’re watching came from. From “young blue-chipper” when he first appeared to “the Doctor of Thuganomics” to “the Leader of the Cenation” to “the Most Polarizing Superstar in the WWE” to, well, “the Greatest of All Time,” John Cena’s storied run in the WWE is absolutely one for the books.

And in true “you don’t know what you got ‘til it’s gone” fashion, we’ll only understand a few things about him once he’s truly done with wrestling, and given his last match just happened a few days ago, it will still take a while before we come to terms with the fact that…

8. Hustle, Loyalty, and Respect wasn’t just some catchphrase

We laughed at the T-shirts. We rolled our eyes at the promos. And yet… he actually lived it. That’s right: the man who made you chant along with him while your spine was screaming “stop” actually practiced what he preached. He hustled. He was loyal. And he more than earned our respect. It’s the blueprint for a life well-lived, and as good as any other self-help mantra you can come up with.

7. You can be a role model without being perfect

You’ve heard about the Taiwan incident. You’ve seen him on Total Divas. You’ve probably even heard the backstage rumors about him. Yet through it all, John Cena carries himself in a way that doesn’t dismiss his worst moments, but takes it all in stride while he still goes out of his way to be a role model for kids, or even a life peg for some of us.

6. What do you mean “he’s just for kids?” That’s a good thing!

More than 650 wishes granted for the Make-A-Wish Foundation. Tell me again how being a hero to children is a bad thing. ‘Nuff said.

5. His meme game is arguably second to none

I can almost see the comments now… or better yet, you can’t see them, because John Cena. Not only is he a walking meme, unlike most other celebrities, he really knows how to lean into it, and he does it better than nearly any other person who has become as memetastic as he is.

4. He may very well be the last of his kind

The WWE is now so big globally that who’s on the card is secondary to the fact that it’s the WWE putting on the show. John Cena may be one of the last few wrestlers who can conceivably be bigger than the industry itself. Everyone else who comes after him pretty much has to be WWE-adjacent all the time. Think The Rock. Think Hulk Hogan. John Cena is in that rarefied air, but in today’s world, that may very well be according to WWE’s design than anything else.

3. His longevity

Hulk Hogan was on top of the WWE (WWF in his day) for about a decade. John Cena went 16 years, pretty much. And this is at a time when there are monthly events, countless shows both televised and otherwise, and the kind of exposure that could make people sick of you, period. Yet through it all, John Cena drew money, even when vocal fans insist he has worn out his welcome. Now that he’s gone, it’s hard to imagine another guy on top for as long as he had in the modern age.

2. Just how much he actually changed wrestling

How much John Cena influenced the industry will continue being felt for decades to come, and only now can we begin to appreciate just how far-reaching those changes will be. If he could be a childhood hero to R-Truth, who else could he have possibly turned into not just a lifelong wrestling fan, but perhaps the next big thing in the industry?

1. How much more we’ll miss him than we actually think

This one hits hard because it sneaks up on you. Cena’s leaving isn’t just a wrestling retirement; it’s the closing of a chapter in our collective fandom. We laughed, we groaned, we meme’d… and now we realize it won’t just be “fun to watch him.” It’s going to feel a little emptier without him, and that’s when we’ll truly understand what he meant to us all.

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